


Roland

by Twentythreefandoms



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Arthur Knows About Merlin's Magic, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Mpreg, Post Mpreg
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-25
Updated: 2015-09-25
Packaged: 2018-04-23 07:23:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,715
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4868162
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Twentythreefandoms/pseuds/Twentythreefandoms
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After years of being in love, Merlin and Arthur find a way to conceive a child for their own. However, destiny has a different plan and the two are forced to live without their baby, who was taken away by Uther. Though it has been years, Merlin and Arthur never give up hope that one day they will be reunited with their child.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Roland

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This story, oh, this story. This has been in the back of my mind since May 2014, and that was when I started writing it! It wasn't until now that I could finish it, and I'm so happy that I can put this story in my finished pile! I hope you love this story as much as I do, because I love this story to pieces. Enjoy!

Merlin and Arthur were in love like all couples in Camelot, but the only thing that differed was their inability to conceive a child, something the two wanted dearly. It had taken over a year of Merlin feverishly searching and brewing experiments until it was finished, a potion that would conceive a child no matter the gender. When Merlin first found out he was with child, much to the stun of Gaius, Arthur and Merlin eventually agreed that the safest option was for Merlin to stay in Ealdor for the nine months that he was carrying. It killed Arthur to be away from his love, but the lack of stress, and the extremely frequent trips that were promised made the decision easier for the two. So when a brief but to the point message that was sent saying Merlin was showing signs of labor he dropped anything he had and travelled to Ealdor to be with Merlin.

It had been two weeks since Merlin had given birth to a beautiful baby boy, the secret heir of Camelot. He had golden curls the shade of the prince and the cheekbones of the manservant, and he couldn’t have been more of a perfect mix between the two. They had named him Roland, and he was the light of their life. The family of three had spent those days in Merlin’s childhood house with mainly Arthur hilariously trying to feed Merlin and their son and Merlin laying on the one bed with Roland tending to him.

They just weren’t expecting anyone to spy on them.

Uther, who was growing suspicious of his son’s lack of attendance at council meetings sent the boy’s uncle, Agravaine, to Ealdor in order to bring Arthur back. Once Agravaine arrived at Ealdor he asked around and found out that a blonde male had just recently arrived in the village just outside of Camelot’s borders and was in a small home. Upon walking to the home and peering into the window he was utterly shocked to discover what he had found.

Arthur was sitting up on a bed, his arm around… isn’t that his manservant that left almost a year ago?, and an infant child in the manservant’s arms. The younger boy, his name had to be Merlin, was asleep with his head on Arthur’s shoulder and Arthur was talking softly to the child.

“You look just like your father,” Arthur cooed, “Well, the one holding you.” He chuckled to himself as Roland yawned, “But thank the gods you’re blonde just like your other father, we get all the attention that way.” He grinned.

Agravaine had never been more confused in his life.

“He’s barely a week old, love,” Merlin spoke softly, stirring slightly but still keeping his eyes closed, “I don’t want our son to have an obnoxious ego like you.”

“You like it.” Arthur countered with a smirk, leaning down and pressing a loving kiss to Merlin’s lips.

No, now Agravaine had never been more confused.

“Who are you?!” A woman with dark hair glared at the older man.

Arthur and Merlin heard the ruckus from outside and made eye contact with with Agravaine who looked rather uncomfortable at having been found out snooping.

“Uncle?!” Arthur inquired, changing his body stance so that it was almost in protective stance to the younger boy and the infant.

Agravaine cleared his throat, “It appears Arthur just told you who I am.” He strode past the woman and entered the home without preamble, the woman hot on his trails behind him.

“This is my home and I demand you leave at once!”

“It’s okay, mother.” Merlin spoke softly, though there was a hint of trepidation. “He’s Arthur’s family.”

“And if you don’t mind this is Camelot business, so don’t take offense when I ask you to leave.” Agravaine eyed the woman challengingly.

The women glared at Agravaine but eventually left the home, a thrill of power running in his veins.

“What are you doing here, Uncle?” Arthur asked, anger seeping through his tone.

“I could ask you the same thing, and I just might, considering the things I’ve seen.” Agravaine replied.

“Are you here on behalf of my father?” Arthur inquired.

His uncle nodded, “He has grown quite impatient.”

“I told him I was on a hunting trip!” Arthur retorted.

“Yes, and nine days is more than enough time to hunt game. Your father stopped believing that story after the third day. He’s demanding your presence back at Camelot, and he demands whatever the distraction is that is keeping you away from Camelot be eliminated. Now, which one is the distraction?”

Merlin gasped and hugged the tiny babe closer to his body as he looked frantically at Arthur who had left the bed and stood as a barrier between his uncle and his lover, “They both are.” Arthur spoke dangerously.

The slight confusion showed on Agravaine’s face, “I do not understand. Did you happen upon this child in the woods?”

Arthur looked at Merlin, almost as if in permission, to which Merlin nodded slowly, “The child is ours. Merlin and I conceived the child, and Merlin carried him in his stomach. He is a Pendragon, just as much as I am.”

“That is not possible!” Agravaine replied, “Do not think me a fool, boy!”

“See for yourself, Uncle.” Arthur insisted, beckoning his uncle towards the bed where Merlin lay with the child now asleep in his father’s arms. Arthur sat on the edge of the bed and placed a comforting hand on Merlin’s thigh before gingerly reaching for Merlin’s red tunic. Upon lifting it, there was a gash along his stomach where stitches were now holding it together. Agravaine looked at it with mild disgust and then looked up to the child. His first reaction was that it did look quite a bit like Merlin, but there was no mistake that he was part Pendragon. Agravaine made eye contact with Merlin who looked like an injured puppy, but the man turned away hurriedly, his mind racing from all of the information that was just presented to him.

“What you are saying is that you… and your servant…” Agravaine gritted through his teeth.

“Yes…” Arthur spoke softly. “And we have been for six years. We love each other Uncle, and now we have a child, a son. That is why I was gone.”

The older man turned to face the family with hardness in his eyes, “You realize I have to tell your father about this.”

Arthur rose from the bed, “You can’t!” The prince exclaimed indignantly.

“I have no choice in the matter. Your father will decide what the do with Merlin… and the child.”

“Uncle,” Arthur pleaded, walking up to Agravaine with the formings of tears in his eyes, “please don’t do this! Merlin and Roland are my family!”

His uncle held a long and thinly veiled glare at his nephew before speaking lowly and with intimidation, “Your kind of people don’t deserve families.”  And he whisked out of the small house leaving Merlin and Arthur stunned.

“Arthur?” Merlin whispered, tears falling freely as he held their son closer in his arms, attempting to rise from the bed but seething with pain that was written clearly across his face.

“Merlin, don’t!” Arthur warned, running to the bed and easing Merlin back, “Stay here and take care of our baby, I’ll go after him.”

Merlin’s lip trembled, “What if your father finds out? What if he takes him away from us?”

“That will never happen.”

But it did. Arthur chased after Agravaine on horse, only to be met up with ten of Camelot’s guards who were ordered to seize Arthur. He was simply outnumbered. When Uther was told by Arthur’s uncle about Arthur’s true whereabouts and his misdoings there, the king immediately sent reinforcements to bring back this boy and the bastard.

When Arthur saw Merlin next he nearly dropped to his knees, for Merlin was dragged by two guards and discarded carelessly in front of the king, his face bloody and his body motionless.

“Merlin!!” Arthur cried, breaking away from the guards who were holding him back until he was beside Merlin, cradling his face and trying to wipe the dried blood away. “I’m so sorry.”

“They have Roland.” Merlin managed to say.

Arthur glared at his Uncle who walked in through the council doors, a smug look plastered on his face, “Where. Is. He.”

“You don’t have to worry about that anymore.” Uther spoke up, nodding to Agravaine in a sign of acceptance, “The child was an abomination.”

“Was?” Arthur choked. Merlin beneath him let out a strangled cry, though it was weak.

Uther wrinkled his nose in disgust, “Though it displeases me to say this because of his gender, yes, he was an abomination. He was a bastard, firstly, and was conceived of magic, and through a male! There is no place in this world for such a thing.”

Arthur broke down in tears, unable to process how so much could go wrong. The prince looked down at Merlin and saw he had fallen unconscious, but his blue tunic was becoming purple around his stomach, where a widening line where Merlin had birthed Roland was starting to show, “Father, please, let me save Merlin.”

“He’s going to be discarded just like his son.” Uther responded coolly.  

“No, you can’t just let him die.” Arthur pleaded, rising to the floor and attempting to scoop Merlin up in his arms, “I’m taking him to Gaius.”

“Arthur!” Uther ordered, “I am your king and you will obey me!”

Arthur ignored him and carried the limp Merlin away from his father, showing no attempt to hide his tears.

* * *

“Arthur!” Gaius exclaimed as the blonde barged into Gaius’ chambers, “ _Merlin_?!” The old man made his way over quickly to Arthur who examined Merlin.

“Can you save him?” Arthur begged.

“Set him on my cot,” Gaius instructed, “I have to inspect his wounds to see what the issue is.”

Arthur placed Merlin on the bed and let Gaius work over Merlin, placing bandages where needed, even on Merlin’s stomach where Gaius stopped the bleeding.

“Where’s the child?” Gaius asked quietly after cleaning up his workspace.

Arthur found a seat next to Merlin’s side and held his bruised hand. He was silent for a moment as he bowed his head in anguish, “I don’t know. They took him away from Merlin.”

“It’s a him.” Gaius smiled, “What’s the lad’s name?”

Arthur smiled through his tears, “Roland.”

Gaius nodded, “Strong name.”

“They killed him, didn’t they, Gaius?” Arthur spoke softly, “They killed our baby.”

Gaius took a deep breath, “I don’t know, Sire.”

There was a knock on the door and the two twisted around to find a guard, “The king requests your presence, your majesty.”

“I’m not going anywhere.” Arthur growled, holding tighter to Merlin’s hand. “And you can tell the king that.”

“No need.” Came a voice from behind the guard. The king of Camelot made his way into Gaius’ chambers and regarded the physician and the guard, “Leave me with my son.”

The king waited until he was alone with his son (save a still unconscious Merlin) to start talking, “I didn’t want to do that, Arthur.”

“What? Kill your flesh and blood?” Arthur asked bitterly.

Uther sighed tiredly, “He’s not dead.”

Arthur quickly looked up at his father, “Where is he?!”

“I’m not going to give you that information. You need to get rid of this notion that you’re in love with this servant. It will be good for you to take time away from him in order to see that.”

“Merlin’s not going anywhere, father.” Arthur told him. “You took our son away from us, you won’t take us away from each other.”

“Stop with this foolishness!” Uther hissed, “One day you’re going to be king and take a queen… start a family…” He shook his head, “...a proper one. Until then, falling in love is pointless.”

Arthur remained silent.

“I pray to the gods you won’t be as immature in your decision making when you’re king.” Uther spoke with disappointment, “You let your heart rule instead of your head, and now a child will have to grow up without knowing who he is.” He glanced at Merlin, “Though, maybe in this case this is a good thing.”

Arthur stared brokenly at Uther, his hand remained firmly within Merlin’s, “Let him stay, father. He… I need him.”

Whether it was a stroke of compassion or a lack of desire to argue further, but Uther grimaced at his son and his lover before leaving without a word.

Merlin was never forced to leave.

* * *

Merlin hadn’t been back to his normal strength in the two weeks since he was brought back to Camelot, so one night when a still emotionally-wrecked Merlin went to lift up Arthur’s laundry bin that normally wouldn’t have caused too much of a problem, the prince froze when he heard a cry of pain and a thud to the ground.

Arthur, who was sitting at his desk and going over trade routes, whipped his head up to find Merlin in the fetal position and the dirty clothes strewn on the floor. “MERLIN!” Arthur exclaimed, whisking to Merlin’s side instantly. He looked down to Merlin’s stomach where his hands were cradling the pained area, and soon Arthur’s hands were on top of his manservant’s, “I told you not to overexert yourself, you’re still recovering!” Arthur tried to chastise him, but it only came out as worry.

Merlin didn’t respond, he only let his soft sobs grow more persistent with every second, “Our _baby_ …” he cried repeatedly, still cradling his flat stomach. “ _Roland_ …”

Arthur’s heart broke, but he had to be the backbone between the two, so he shushed Merlin to a dull weep and scooped him up in order to place him on Arthur’s bed. “Please don’t cry, love.” He begged desperately, running a hand through Merlin’s soft black hair.

Merlin seemed to sink into himself, clutching onto Arthur’s duvet as his sobs continued, and it wrecked Arthur that he couldn’t do anything to fix it. He himself wanted to join Merlin and sob at the loss of their son, but Arthur couldn’t think selfishly at this point. Merlin was the one who carried Roland for nine months in his body, spending all that time loving him only to lose him weeks after his birth. Just thinking about it made Arthur sick to his stomach.

“We’ll find him.” Arthur vowed fiercely, “We won’t stop until he’s with his family.” Merlin gave Arthur a watery smile before it turned into a grimace. “What is it?” Arthur asked him.

“It’s the cut,” Merlin gritted, “It hurts more than normal today.”

“What can I do to make it better?”

“It gets better with time… I’m fine.”

Arthur sighed, “Merlin, please let me help.” Arthur went to lift Merlin’s tunic but the younger man swatted his hand away before he could lift it.

“No!” Merlin squeaked.

“What’s wrong?” Arthur asked.

Merlin blushed, “It’s not…. I’m not as… thin as I was before.”

“You think I don't want you now? That I’ll be disgusted?” Arthur asked incredulously.

Merlin dropped his gaze and said nothing.

“Merlin, there will never be a time when I won’t love you,” he told his sorcerer. “Now, please let me see your injury to make sure it’s not infected?” With a slight nod from Merlin, Arthur carefully lifted up his tunic to reveal his stomach. There were minor stretch marks along his hip bones and his skin was now soft around his navel where before it was lean and hard. Running horizontally across his stomach was the cut where Merlin birthed Roland, still an angry red but looking as if it was on the cusp of healing.

So many emotions ran through Arthur as he looked down at Merlin, but at the end of the day they were all love. The prince knelt down and placed a gentle kiss on Merlin’s soft skin right below his cut, massaging with his thumbs the delicate lines of where his skin stretched to make room for their son. Merlin’s fingers traced through Arthur’s golden locks and urged him upwards towards Merlin’s mouth. Arthur went willingly, meeting the warlock’s lips with his in a soft embrace. In a way, this was their first intimate moment after Roland’s kidnapping, and it reminded the blonde how desperately he missed the closeness with his companion of over six years. Arthur couldn’t help himself as he pulled Merlin in closer, sliding his leg in between Merlin’s and feeling Merlin’s erection against his leg.

“Gaius said no sex for another two weeks…” Merlin gasped against Arthur’s lips, going against his words and biting down on Arthur’s bottom lip. “The…” a lick into his mouth, “stitching.”

Arthur groaned against Merlin’s lips, “Right.” He reluctantly pulled away just far enough so that he could look at Merlin without seeing double. He sighed and traced his fingers along Merlin’s jaw, noting the slight bite marks on his skin that brought out the possessive monster in him. His love for Merlin knew no bounds, and it hurt him to think that their living embodiment of their love was somewhere out there without his parents.

“We are going to find him.” Arthur spoke without an ounce of doubt.

Merlin smiled, “I know.”

* * *

** Four Years Later **

“Merlin,” Arthur complained, throwing unnecessary items scattering across the floor, “have you seen my comb?! I could have sworn it was just--”

“Ahemm.” Merlin appeared from behind Arthur’s changing curtain (which, let’s face it, has been only a thing of decoration for the past ten years), holding the ornate comb in his hand and a cocky smirk on his face, “I believe you just saw it with me.”

Arthur smiled, “Perhaps.”

The sorcerer walked up to his lover and proceeded to straighten up his golden hair, “Turning thirty is a big accomplishment, even for someone who can be such a clotpole.”

“I thought we got rid of those ridiculous names,” Arthur groaned.

“Indulge me for one day?” Merlin batted his lashes suggestively.

“It’s my birthday! I thought I was the one getting indulged in,” Arthur smirked and pulled Merlin against his body, admiring the drastic change he has gone through after giving birth years previous. Absolutely hating his soft stomach, Merlin on the side started training with Arthur in the prince’s chambers, performing the routines the knights would in order to bulk up for battle, and it certainly was working for him. His frame, which once was lean, was now broad and confident, which went along with his strong arms that used to be lanky but now seemed to fit perfectly. All in all, Merlin was gorgeous.

An urgent knock at Arthur’s doors split the couple, “Enter.”

Leon bolted into the room followed by two guards, “Sire, it’s your father!”

“What is it?” Arthur asked.

“On his daily ride through the woods, a snake spooked the horse and threw him off. He’s suffering from a head injury… and Gaius doesn’t think he’ll survive.”

Arthur ran blindly towards his father’s chambers, the world seeming to pass by in a blur until he reached the four poster bed of the king, his head bandaged and his chest rising and falling slowly. The prince looked at Gaius who was cleaning up his medical area, “How is he?”

Gaius, ever honorable, pulled Arthur apart from the servants who were tending to the unconscious king, “He has internal bleeding in the brain, causing it to swell. Even with my years I’m afraid there’s nothing I can do for something that severe, sire.” He responded evenly.

“Arthur…” Came a soft whisper, causing Gaius and Arthur to twist around and find Uther awake and staring straight at his son.

The two men flew to the bed and Arthur grabbed his father’s hand, “You’ll be fine, father.” Arthur told him instantly. Besides Merlin, his father was the last family he had. Agravaine, though he was cut off by Arthur, was killed in battle just over two years ago, much to little grief from his nephew.

Uther gave a sigh and mumbled, “Gaius, I would like to speak with my son, if you don’t mind, old friend.”

“Of course, sire.” Gaius nodded and left.

“Father, I--”

“--No, please, I don’t have much time.” Uther spoke.

“Don’t say such things.”

“It’s… about… Roland.” Uther managed.

Arthur immediately stopped in his tracks, new tears producing quickly, “What about him?” He asked hesitantly.

“I told you four years ago that he was still alive, but not his location for your safety. But… if these four years have taught me anything, it’s that guilt from tearing apart a family will burn you. And Arthur, you know I only did it to protect you.”

Arthur refused to speak, he only stared at his father, seeking this desperate information that it seems only Uther has carried with him.

“Roland… after I ordered him to be taken from Merlin,” a quiet sob escaped from his lips, “I had a chance to see him before they took him away, and he was so beautiful. It nearly killed me then to let him go.”

Arthur let out a sob that he had been holding back for four years, thinking of his lost boy somewhere in this world, not knowing that he was always loved this whole time. “Where is he, father?” Arthur pleaded.

“I…” Uther groaned, “I sent him to the druids. Being produced from magic, I assumed that he would be a possessor of such dishonorable acts.”

“The druids…” Arthur breathed, immediately making plans on taking a “hunting trip” with Merlin to find the druids… to find Roland. But he was sidetracked by the sharp intake of pain as Uther squeezed his hand, wincing in all of his pain before all his strength left him.

“Father?!” Arthur asked, standing to look above his father. “GAIUS!” Arthur called, glad that the physician always seemed to be an ear length away.

He checked the king’s pulse and turned to Arthur, “His pulse is faint, but it looks like it will be soon, sire. I’ll come around to your chambers when something has changed.”

Arthur nodded in his understanding and walked out of his father’s chambers, never to see him alive again.

* * *

Arthur clambered his way back to the Prince’s chambers, his mind solely focussed on the fact that Roland, Merlin and Arthur’s Roland, was somewhere with the Druids. Alive. Halfway to his chambers he had to stop to gather his breath which came short. He had only momentarily lost his father and gained rightful claim to the throne of Camelot, but hardly any of it mattered due to the new information to his son. He couldn’t wait to tell the news to Merlin, his lover and companion over the past ten years. He knew that they would immediately set off to find the Druids and their son, discarding Arthur’s ceremony to truly become King of Camelot, all to find Roland.

Finding his footing, Arthur finished his quest to reach his chambers and entered without preamble, shocking Merlin who was finishing making their bed. The sorcerer jumped from his spot and held his hand out for defense, but withdrew it once he saw it was his companion. “Arthur…” Merlin breathed, and ran to the mess that was the new King. “What happened? Is your father...?”

Arthur didn’t answer Merlin’s question, only collapsed against him and clung to his body, “Merlin, oh Merlin…”

“Tell me.” Merlin replied, stroking Arthur’s hair, “Tell me, love.”

“It’s Roland…” Arthur said, Merlin’s body stiffened against his, “I know where he his. He’s…” he shuttered, “He’s alive.”

A disbelieving Merlin pulled away from Arthur and held him at arm’s length, his face contorted between held back despair and newly found hope. “What?” He blinked back tears, “How do you know? When?”

“My father told me. He kept him alive, sent him away. He told me just now. Oh Merlin, he’s alive!” He laughed like a lunatic, and soon Merlin joined him, hugging Arthur and shaking against his frame.

“We need to find him, Arthur. He needs his parents.” More ecstatic laughter came from Merlin, “I knew it! I-I felt him!”

“I told you we would find him, and we will.”

“Let’s go, Arthur! I’ll find the Druids, like I always do, and we’ll find him! We’ve waited four years, let’s not wait a second longer.”

Arthur grinned and wiped a tear from Merlin’s face, “Yes, let’s find our boy.”

* * *

Finding the Druids was harder than either Merlin or Arthur expected. Apparently, and this was according to Merlin, the only reason they kept in contact with the King and the one they call Emrys was because they wanted to be found. “Don’t they _want_ us to find our son?” Arthur grumbled after a week of searching the forests around the Valley of the Fallen Kings near Cenred's Kingdom.

Merlin sighed and warmed his hands against the fire he had magicked to life, observing his companion’s features, “Maybe they’re afraid. Magic is still outlawed in Camelot.”

“Because the previous king just died! Had I the time and the sufficient support, you know the ban would be lifted.”

A thrill of happiness surged in Merlin, and the magical fire recognized it, creating beautiful swirls and sparks within the flames, “Yes, I know. But it still is understandable why they would want to hide. They have the heir to Camelot, someone they never intended to foster. What if we aren’t happy with how they raised him over the four years he was away from us?”

“That’s ridiculous!” Arthur countered, “He’s our _son_! We’ll love him regardless of anything!”

The pair were quiet as they warmed themselves against the fire, “Would you do it all again? Have another child? One we could raise properly this time?”

Arthur snapped his head to look at Merlin whose face remained impassive, “What are you asking?”

“I’m asking if, when the time is right, we want to have another child.” Merlin glanced at Arthur, “It’s not like we haven’t said before we wanted a big family.”

“This was also before Roland was taken from us.” Arthur closed his space between himself and Merlin and wrapped his arms around him, “I want more than anything to have as many children with you, but we’re just about to get our first child back. We don’t even know how to parent. We might be rubbish at it.” He smiled.

Merlin grinned and leaned his forehead against Arthur’s temple, “No, we’ll be brilliant. Roland will be brilliant. We just have to find him.”

That night as the king and his sorcerer lay together in their tent, Merlin had the most peculiar dream. He was running alongside a river, chasing after a small boy in a white tunic and brown trousers. His hair, while not necessarily blonde, was light as the spring sun bounced off his slight curls. Merlin was laughing as he saw the young boy squeal in faux terror, his small feet padding against the mud, staining his porcelain skin.

The small boy glanced behind, just barely making contact with his wide, dark blue eyes, when Merlin was shaken awake by Arthur, who was standing over him protectively. “Arthur?” Merlin asked, reaching up and grasping Arthur’s forearm. The man above him never moved as he stared straight ahead, his body frozen. “What--?”

“Merlin…” Arthur breathed, finally moving and using his free hand twist Merlin’s head to see a line of Druids standing twenty yards outside their tent, and in the middle stood a small boy shrouded in a hooded cloak.

Iseldir, the Druid Chieftain, stood behind the boy and ushered himself and the boy forward a few steps, “Emrys and the Once and Future King.”

Merlin and Arthur scrambled out of the tent and stood together, clinging to each other’s sides, their eyes never leaving the sight of the small body before them. They could not see the face, but his fingers were twisting together nervously.

Iseldir smiled and nudged the child softly on the hood, and tentative fingers wrapped around the hood and pulled it back, revealing a four year old boy with dirty blond hair, sharp cheekbones, ears just a smidge too big for his head and blue eyes that resembled so much the color of the current king of Camelot. He nervously glanced upwards, his eyes wide and questioning. “I present to Emrys and Arthur Pendragon, the Once and Future King, their son Roland Pendragon, Prince of Camelot.”

The shaking parents collapsed together and laughed through their tears as Iseldir walked Roland forward to meet his fathers. The boy was timid and relied solely on the older man to push him forward. As the anxious parents watched their son come near them, they couldn’t believe their journey to this point: years of research to create the right potion in order to conceive a child, birthing Roland only to lose him weeks later, learning that he was still alive, and then later that he was with the Druids, and finally to this point, where they can finally see their boy for the first time since he was merely a babe. He was the most beautiful child they had ever seen.

“You’re a king?” Was the first thing that Roland spoke, his blue eyes flicking to Arthur.

The king nodded, smiling enough that it could blind, “I am. I am the king of Camelot.”

Roland’s eyes perked up slightly and turned to Merlin, “And you’re a sorcerer?!”

Merlin chuckled, “Yes, Roland.” Merlin wanted to explode from the sheer joy of speaking to his son. He wanted to close the gap that was barely there and consume his son with hugs, but he didn’t want to overwhelm the boy. Both Arthur and Merlin were holding each other back.

“Iseldir said you’d come for me one day! That the greatest king and the most powerful sorcerer would come! You did!” The boy revealed a toothy grin and looked up at his guardian who was observing the scene with a content smile, “They came for me!”

“Yes, they did, young prince.” The chieftain knelt down to the boy and placed a hand on his shoulder, “And now it is time for you to go with your parents. You’ll learn magic and swordplay from your fathers and how to be a great prince and eventually a powerful King.”

Merlin smiled, “He has magic?” He asked excitedly.

“I do!” Roland replied. “I’ll show you!”

The parents held each other as their son’s blue eyes glowed a brilliant gold, and the forest surrounding them came to life as the trees and plants danced between shimmering gusts of wind. Merlin and Arthur watched in awe, their smiles never leaving their faces.

“Roland has an affinity with the Earth, whereas you align yourself with Air, Emrys.” Iseldir explained.

“That’s amazing!” Merlin exclaimed, gaining a proud grin from Roland, an image that looked so similar to Arthur. Merlin couldn’t help himself and surged forward, pulling Roland into his arms and hugging him earnestly. Arthur laughed as the young prince’s eyes widened in shock but accepted the hug and soon returned it enthusiastically. Arthur reached forward and ran his hand through his son’s dark blond hair, his tears flowing freely. It had been so long since he let himself hope he could do this, and to finally be able to see his son was the greatest gift he could ever receive.

Merlin pulled away and placed a kiss to Roland’s cheek, the prince blushing but not refusing the affection from his father. “Da!” He giggled.

Arthur laughed, “That’s the first time you’ve been called that, love.”

Merlin turned to look at Arthur, his eyes filled with tears as he nodded, “Yes, I know.”

Roland looked at Arthur and then closed the gap, wrapping his small arms around the King’s neck, “You get a hug, too, Da!”

Arthur immediately squeezed the small body and revelled in the glory of his son in his arms, “Thank you, Roland.” Merlin came around and hugged both Arthur and Roland, the three huddled together in a loving embrace. The king looked up to see Iseldir and the rest of the Druids smiling, some crying happily at the scene, and he lost his composure. “Thank you.” He spoke to the Druids, “Thank you for keeping our son safe.”

Iseldir nodded once, “It is a small reward compared to this moment, our king. But you must be off now. Roland has much to learn about the castle life. I’m afraid it was one thing we were not able to teach.”

“No,” Merlin spoke, “Do not apologize, you were selfless and kind to our son when we could not raise him. We owe you everything.”

Arthur and Merlin stood, Arthur picking Roland up in the meantime and holding him in his arms. Merlin held onto his son’s hand, unable to let him go. “Will you come back to Camelot with us? I would like you to be there during the ceremony for me to become king. And there’s the issue of getting rid of the ban on magic.”

Iseldir nodded, “While my peers will be needed elsewhere, I will be glad to join you in Camelot, but I will need a few days. Go and take Roland, show him around the castle--”

“Castle?!” The boy exclaimed, his eyes lighting up again, causing his parents to laugh.

“I can see he is excited. Go, take your son, raise him like the past four years did not exist, and I will join you soon. We can begin talks then.”

“Yes, of course.” Arthur replied. Within a few seconds the Druids disappeared into the forest, leaving the three to experience what it was like to be a family. They promptly packed their tent and made their way back to Camelot, their four year old bouncing excitedly in front of Merlin on their horse.

The King, his Sorcerer and their son rode towards Camelot, love and pure joy running through their veins, laughing at the bright joy that they had created, knowing that they had so many more years ahead of them. They would be together, and they would be a family. Finally.

****  



End file.
